Once again, the Dixon Area Christian Ministerial Association is proud to invite the whole community to share in worship on Sunday, July 5, at 9 a.m. at the Reagan Stage in Dixon’s downtown.

This important opportunity allows Christians and non-Christians alike to put aside denominational differences and the typical pattern of Sunday morning to be united in our faith in Jesus Christ during the Dixon Petunia Fest.

I have been given the privilege of preaching for this service, and in that sermon, I intend to issue a challenge to every Christian in Dixon and the Sauk Valley.

But I also want to do so now: I challenge every place of worship in Dixon to pause their normal Sunday worship on July 5 and instead participate in the community worship – make a concerted effort to join this ecumenical endeavor.

Our preparation for the event already includes a half-dozen different churches; we have room for more! And if your congregation is not planning on joining, ask your leaders why that is.

Believe me that I understand denominational differences and history – oceans of differences in theology, polity and orthopraxy can exist between churches. Us Lutherans are well aware of that.

But part of DACMA’s work, and that of the Community Worship, is to acknowledge these differences and step over them for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ here in Dixon.

A few years ago, Tom Wadsworth said 17% of people in Dixon attended worship on a weekend – can you imagine if all 2,500-plus people showed up, together, at the riverfront to share in worship and turn in service to those in need?

It is my earnest prayer that Baptists, Lutherans, Catholics, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Brethren, non-denominational, and all others may share in worship on July 5 to hear the Good News of God’s abundant love poured out for all through Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection and then share in our mission, inspired by the Holy Spirit, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the homeless and visit the sick and the imprisoned (Matthew 25).

Imagine all the good we can do, in Christ’s name, if we work together!

See you at the riverfront.

• Rev. Anthony Windau is an ordained minister in the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) and serves as co-pastor of St. Paul and Immanuel Lutheran churches in Dixon.